Happy Birthday, Cas!
by MarRushionerGleek
Summary: [AU!] It's Castiel's 21st Birthday and he's dragged by his dearest brother into a bar of Lebanon to 'celebrate'. A duet of brothers play pool at the back of the place, and one in particular catches the blue-eyed boy's interest. Gabriel and Charlie have the brilliant idea of approaching and daring them to a match so that he could break the ice with the green-eyed man.


Hey, guys! So, this is my first # **Destiel** One-shot!

 **Disclaimer** : I own nothing. It's based on a prompt I saw on Tumblr. Take no credits for it.

Unfortunatelly, I don't own any of the Supernatural characters either.

Only the narrative is mine.

And I also apologize for any grammar or spelling mistake below. English is not my language. ^^;

* * *

Twenty one years is not much, in terms of lifetime is concerned. To Castiel Novak, twenty-one was no big deal. However, neither his brother nor his best friend shared that vision. They had the strong belief that, by reaching the age of majority and becoming a hundred percent legal, it would constitute the actual beginning of his life: his full freedom.

And that was why, in those moments, he was being dragged by the prankster Gabriel Novak and the impetuous Charlie Bradbury to the most popular bar of Lebanon, with strict purposes of celebration.

"One does not turn twenty one every day, Cassie", Gabriel said as he dragged the black-haired boy into the establishment. "It's a worthy cause for celebration".

"Gabe, seriously, I don't get your point. This one is not different to any other birthday. We could've gone to any other place. Why here?" the voice of the youngest of the Novak's denoted his disagreement.

"Because, dear baby brother, this very day you will become a man!" the brunette crooned, with the determination of an infomercial announcer.

Castiel rolled his eyes. _'Good to know I wasn't one before'_ , he though sarcastically.

"Besides", his friend hastened to add, with a broad smile. "It's easy to find cute guys here". The blue-eyed guy didn't understand the mocking wink that the girl gave him, and honestly preferred to ignore it.

Before they could object anything else, Gabriel tugged at his arm toward the bar, where they finally sat down in a couple of unoccupied places; Charlie followed close behind, sitting next to the Novak brothers.

It was the first time that Castiel stepped on a place like that; he had seen the establishment several times from the outside, when he passed by in the morning on his way to his summer job in that cafe, but had never looked inside a bar, incredible as it sounded being the case of a teenager who turned twenty one. And actually, it wasn't as bad as he could have imagined. It seemed like a decent place: at least, there were no violent drunk dudes or things like that... yet.  
The space was considerably large, and was crowded with a good two-thirds of young people here and there, mainly clustered around the old decorative jukebox, tables and pool table located at the back of the bar. The rest of the clients were grown up men; some were accompanied by their partners, others were in small groups of friends, a few others sitting on the bar by themselves, possibly drowning their sorrows in alcohol.

While the room was filled with a permanent stench of alcohol and cigarettes, the atmosphere was not entirely unpleasant. In the background sounded a seemingly popular song that Castiel didn't recognize.

Gabriel had asked for drinks without the black-haired boy even noticing, and he was already handing him a glass of some amber liquid with plenty of ice in it. Castiel looked down at it with suspicion.

"What's this?" he asked, while he leaned a little to sniff the drink.

"Don't be picky, Cassie! It's a mango margarita. Just give it a taste." said the eldest, whose eyes matched with the drink he offered his brother.

The dark haired boy turned to his friend, as if looking for some kind of assistance or consent, and she just smiled at him and nodded, encouraging him to do what the brunette had requested. Castiel took the glass to his lips and took a sip. The liquid went down his throat as if it was on fire, causing the younger boy to cough a little and wince.

Gabriel couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Don't drink it so fast, you oaf. Enjoy it!" he instructed, but of course, it was too late for Castiel. The latter gave him his best glare, which in the eyes of his older brother looked more like a pout, making him laugh even more.

Charlie just chuckled, but wasn't paying much attention to the brothers' comedy. She seemed to look for something or someone in the crowd, without much success.

Castiel did the same, with no intention of listening to the chatter of his dear brother – who while being two years older than him, behaved as someone at least seven years younger, and wasn't even able to overtake Castiel's height no matter how hard he tried; and Castiel wasn't that tall himself –, and let his deep blue gaze wander around the place, with nothing in particular being targeted. And it wasn't until he had focused on the game that took place at the pool table he found something of interest.

He couldn't be much older than Gabriel; a couple of years more, as much. His skin was tanned, with spiked short hair a shade between dirty blonde and light brown. At the distance he wasn't capable of pointing out the colour of his eyes, but his features were rather attractive, of firm jaw and snub nose. He wore some washed out jeans and a chocolate brown leather jacket.  
He was playing pool with another guy, with a plaid shirt and a longer and darker mane, who despite getting nearly a head taller, was visibly younger – even younger than Castiel. They had to be brothers, for the resemblance on their features and profile was notable, even when the younger's gestures were softer.

"Hey, what're you looking at, Cassie?" The hazel-eyed guy beside him asked curiously, leaning out and looking over the black-haired boy's shoulder. The younger's cheeks turned a soft crimson automatically.

Charlie imitated the Novak's, looking in the direction of the pair of brothers by the pool table.

"Wouldn't you be more discrete, for God's sake?" Castiel muttered, turning his face nervously. The redhead laughed cynically at his reaction.

"Someone already put his eye on someone." She crooned, quizzical, making the blush on the cheeks of the birthday boy increase.

"Hey, what a nice moose!" said Gabriel, looking with interest at the pool table.

"Moose? He doesn't look like…" Castiel stared towards the guys. "Which of the two are you talking about?"

"Why? Don't tell me you also liked the pretty boy with plaid shirt."

"No, I… Forget it."

"Oh… I see! You like the older one! Cassie, if I didn't know you…"

"Shut up, Gabriel!"

"Why don't you go talk to him?" Charlie suggested, without the less concern.

"Are you being serious? Of course not! That'd be too embarrassing. I'm not that drunk yet to do so." Argued the dark-haired, earning another laughter of his older brother – who was now licking a Tootsie pop Castiel had no idea where he got it from.

"Aw, Cassie, but you haven't even had a glass! Chill, and better go for it. Maybe you could introduce his little brother to me." Gabriel said, winking at the younger Novak.

"Gabe, you're about four years older than the boy".

"Hey, you and Blondie have the same age difference, so you're not the one to talk. Go there and show the world what a man you are!"

Castiel rolled his eyes, as he frequently did at the comments of his wisecracking older brother. Charlie, meanwhile, seemed quite amused by the situation. "C'mon, Cassidy! Are you going to be a baby or to go talk to that hottie over there?"

"Now you too, Charlene? That's treason!" The black-haired whined, with an offended gesture. The redhead and Gabriel laughed in unison at his funny pout, which didn't improve the mood of the aforementioned.

"Castiel, it's not the Quest to Erebor where you have to defeat the Dragon we're talking about; you just have to talk to a mortal guy. It can't be that bad." Charlie called with ease.

Castiel and Gabriel exchanged a puzzled look. "I don't understand that reference." The first one noted, tilting his head confused.

"Well, whatever she'd wanted to tell us with that, I think Charlie's right, Cassie." Replied the brunette, shrugging and savouring his cherry lollipop casually. "What've you got to lose? You don't know him, and chances are if you don't speak with him tonight, you'd never ever see him again in your life. Will you let go such an opportunity?"

"I don't think a handsome guy is a life or dead question, Gabriel."

"Wow!" The older sighed, shaking his head with disapproval. "I'd have thought you to be anything but a coward, Castiel James Novak. That's a shame!"

Castiel glared at him with a scowl.  
Of course Gabriel knew his brother was too shy and withdrawn to have such an initiative, especially when dealing with a stranger. In fact, it was a surprise to everyone that he had such a talkative friend like Charlie – or that he actually had a friend, for the best. They had met in high school, and since then they were inseparable; the quiet nerd and the cheerful geek. Certainly they made a unique pair of friends.

Therefore, the golden-eyed boy was quick to come up with a plan to get his dear brother – who he enjoyed disturbing the most and who he had a better relationship with – the number of that guy who had attracted him, or at least that he had fun in his twenty first birthday. And why not? Seize the opportunity to approach himself to that good-looking moose.

"Well, if you don't wanna go, Cassandra, then good for you. I'll go see how good those two in the pool are. Maybe we can beat the game. What do you say, Charlie? You coming?" The older stood up, with a broad grin and offering a hand gentlemanly to the ginger girl. Charlie giggled and accepted his hand, getting up from her seat and following Gabriel to the back of the establishment.

"Wait, what? Are you planning to leave me here alone? Hey, no... Wait for me!" Castiel called out alarmed, hurrying to go after his brother and best friend.

Charlie let out a laugh, while the blue-eyed struggled to reach them between all those people. Castiel couldn't believe that the 'great move' by Gabriel was working on him, who had allegedly believed himself to be already immune to his tricks and pranks. But the cunning of his older brother never cease to surprise him.

They approached the table where the other pair of brothers played pleasantly. At that distance, Castiel could see the subtle traces of freckles that decorated the handsome face of the oldest brother. The younger one raised his gaze to the newcomers, with some curiosity. His eyes were honey-coloured tending to green, according to what the black-haired could see from where he was.

"Hi!" Gabriel greeted gleefully, leaning both hands against the edge of the table, with casual air. "Having fun?"

The attention of the blonde – or light brown haired, Castiel could not decide – turned to the eldest of the present Novak's, with a dismissive arched eyebrow. His eyes swept one by one, scanning first Gabriel, then going with little regard for the redhead, to finally settle on Castiel.

Green. They were green. And what a shade of green! Castiel's heart stopped for a brief moment when that intense pair of eyes met his, and then resumed running at full power. Lucky for him, the man looked away in a split second, allowing Castiel to blush unseen.

"'Sup?" He said simply as a greeting, his deep voice still reverberating over the thunderous sound of music.

"I'm Gabriel, the girl is Charlie and this one here is Cassie."

"Castiel" The dark haired Novak corrected, frowning at his brother. He realized then that he had attracted the attention of the other two guys. The one with the leather jacket glanced at him with some interest, possibly at his quite unusual name. Castiel wanted to be even smaller right then.

"We saw that you were playing pool and wondered if you'd be willing to a friendly game. What do you say?" Gabriel suggested, without taking his amber gaze of the taller brunette shamelessly, causing the boy in question blush a little. Gabriel smiled from ear to ear, while the oldest brother didn't seem so happy with the scene. The man seemed to consider Gabriel's offer an instant.

"Sure, why not?" he shrugged, exchanging a quick look with his younger brother. "I'm Dean, he's my brother Sam".

' _Dean'_ , Castiel repeated in his mind. Of course it wouldn't be hard to remember, and it wasn't like if he could forget it at all. He felt pathetic having thoughts like that; what was he, a lovesick schoolgirl? He was supposed to have come to that place to 'become a man', as Gabriel had said, not to behave like a teenager living their first love. Which, as a matter of fact, was kind of happening. It was the first time that Castiel had a crush on someone so openly, even worse being a perfect stranger.

"Nice to meet ya'." Said a grinning Gabriel, dedicating a flirty look to the brother identified as Sam. "So, shall we start?"

"'Course." Sam nodded, smiling back at the golden-eyed boy. "Who's playing?"

"I was actually going for a drink." The redhead apologized, turning to face his friend with a smile of innocent looking. "Why don't you two play? I'm sure you can contrive without me, guys. By the way... it's his birthday." She added with a wink, pointing to the black haired.

Gabriel laughed openly, amused. "Don't bet much on the birthday boy." He joked, while taking a pair of cues, handing one to his younger brother with a mischievous smile. Castiel took it reluctantly, sending a poisoned look to the older.

The other two boys had settled into their positions across the table, ready to start the game. Each holding a pool cue. "Is it? Happy Birthday." Sam wished, offering a sincere smile to the aforementioned.

"Thanks." He replied as well, shrugging dismissively with a hint of shyness.

"Okay." Dean nodded, positioning to shoot while Sam turned to accommodate the pool balls on centre of the table into a perfect triangle.

Castiel watched the movements of each carefully, noting their grace and fluidity. They were obviously very experienced in the game. His blue eyes wandered, analysing each of the coloured balls, trying to understand the mechanics of the game by some calculation in size or something like that. Actually, it would be his first time playing pool. He had seen his brothers play on a couple of occasions, he had learned the rules, but he had never tried it for himself.

"Have you ever played before?" It took Castiel a second or two to realize that the green-eyed were speaking directly to him. He blinked a few times to clear his mind when meeting that intense stare, trying to make the right connections between his brain and tongue to utter words.

"Uh… Not really." He admitted, subtly biting his lower lip due to his nervousness. "But you seem to be in a very good form".

A cheeky lopsided smile spread across the face of the green-eyed, with amusement; a smile that actually took the breath right out of Castiel, leaving his mind momentarily blank. A smirk worthy of Dean Winchester, which Castiel Novak hadn't known until then, and which would inevitably make him succumb to him.

Gabriel himself was seriously torn between laughing out loud at the spontaneous comment from his brother, who unknowingly could be interpreted with a different connotation, or simply remain silent. He chose the latter, though it was impossible to conceal the grin. The youngest of the four, Sam, seemed equally amused by the scene, hiding his face behind his hair discreetly to not denote the laughter.

The gears inside the head of black haired took a few seconds to spin up properly, finally reacting and understanding the erroneous message that his words had delivered.

"I meant… you seem to be good… at playing pool." He reiterated, though his voice came out so choppy and awkward that instead of helping him, it ended up making him look even more ridiculous in front of the handsome blonde man.

"Of course." He smirked, taking advantage of his baritone voice. "Then I hope you learn fast. I don't wanna smash you down on your birthday."

This time, Gabriel couldn't contain himself and burst out laughing. The blue-eyed boy's cheeks burned in a vivid cherry, being more agile this time to understand the double meaning of his words.

"Alright, are we finally gonna play?" Sam intervened, even though he was chuckling at the funny flattery exchange between the two men, he preferred not to witness the brazen flirtations of his older brother.

With a carefree smile, Dean stood in place, without looking away from Castiel, whose knees seemed to tremble because of those devastating green eyes.

"The birthday boy first", he said.

Castiel swallowed, throwing a hesitant glance at his brother, who could not be more amused by the situation. "C'mon, _Cassie_. Show them what you're made of. Be a good Novak."

Of course that was the kind of support that Castiel had expected to receive from his dear older brother. After all, he was dealing with The Prankster. What else could be expected? With a sigh, he narrowed his hands on the cue and put it in the right position to shoot, aiming at the white ball, as he had seen his brothers do. And to his own surprise, he didn't do it as bad as he had feared, but managed to introduce one of the balls in the opposite hole.

"Not bad," praised the older Winchester. "…for a beginner".

For some reason, the compliment meant more to Castiel than if it had come from any other person, including his own older siblings. Maybe it had to do with how well Dean played, or perhaps it was the magnetism in his eyes and his voice. He could easily get lost in those eyes, so he chose to smile and nod.

The game went in a pretty entertaining way. Charlie had come back several minutes before with her drink, sitting by the guys playing and acting as a spectator, occasionally cheering the successes of Gabriel and Castiel or laughing at the jokes of the four men.

Certainly the redhead didn't overlook the obvious sexual tension that howled in the environment, both by Castiel and attractive green-eyed as Gabriel and his attempts to flirt with the youngest of the Winchester brothers. She seemed pretty entertained by it.  
Frequently blushes appeared on Sam's face whenever Gabriel winked or smiled at him suggestively, or whenever he blatantly invaded the other's personal space.  
Something similar happened between Castiel and Dean. Jokes, compliments, comments pun intended, nervous smiles, blushes and an intense exchange of glances between the two.  
Charlie made a huge effort not to laugh outright at them. Repeatedly she was about to rise from her seat, walk to either of the two potential couples and say, _'Now, kiss!_ '.

After a while, the game had come to an end with the victory of the blonde and his younger brother, leaving Gabriel a little disappointed, but quickly forgot his defeat to proceed with his flirtation with the tallest brunette.

"You're really good, I must admit" said the golden-eyed. "You definitely won fairly. Now we invite you a drink. Coming, moose?"

Sam smiled, and cast a hesitant glance at Dean, who nodded his approval and started to put the cues in place. With a smile and a wave, Gabriel practically dragged Sam to the bar enthusiastically. Charlie stood up and started to follow.

"I'll get another drink, too." The redhead hurried away without bothering to ask if they also wanted something.

Castiel chuckled, rolling his eyes at the embarrassingly obvious attempt of his friend to leave him alone with the handsome man from the pool. Dean didn't seem to mind about this, smirking at him with amusement.

"So, it's your birthday." He said as he circled the table to meet with Castiel.

"Yes. Twenty-first, in fact." The black-haired nodded, shrugging. "Nothing special, but Gabriel insisted to come here to celebrate. It's impossible to tell him no, he's really stubborn."

"I see." Dean smiled. "Well, for being your first time playing pool, you wasn't that bad."

"Thanks. You… play very well."

Dean laughed, in a way that was pleasing to the ear for Castiel, leaving him with the desire to hear it again. Sadly, the dark haired couldn't think of anything else to say to keep the conversation alive, although the older didn't seem to mind at all. He never considered himself virtuous in socializing with _normal_ people. Charlie Bradbury and his brothers were distinctive exceptions, of course.

The blonde tilted his head slightly, staring at Castiel with that charming lopsided smile that'd steal sighs from any girl.

"Hey, why don't we go for a drink? Maybe a couple of beers would do, since you didn't seem to be enjoying the margarita you had before." He noted. "What do you say? My treat, birthday boy."

Castiel offered him a smile.

"A couple of beers sound nice."

Pleased with the response, Dean headed for the bar, motioning at Castiel to follow him. And he did. They sat on a couple of stools by the bar, and the blonde asked for the drinks. His green eyes scanned the bar until they spotted his younger brother, who laughed out loud at some joke Gabriel Novak had made, sitting between him and the ginger girl.

Once received their drinks, Castiel and Dean started to talk a bit about themselves, sharing with each other their tastes on music, sports and hobbies. The youngest of the Novak's learned that Dean Winchester was 24 years old, had finished his studies in Law a year ago, as his father had wished he did, and worked for a law firm. He also told him that Sam had got a scholarship in Oxford and that he was currently on vacations. They and their father didn't have a brilliant relationship, and they only saw him once in a while, on important dates if lucky. He learned as well that Dean had a fetish for cars, and that he owned a black _Chevrolet Impala 1967_.  
Castiel, likewise, told him about his family, being him the youngest child of five siblings. The eldest of them, Michael, had to contrive to provide for the family after their parents died in a car accident when Castiel was thirteen. He was starting his Psychology studies, as he had dreamed of, and worked half-shift at a small bookstore a few blocks away from his house. Every time he could and hand no homework or duties to do in the afternoon, Gabriel used to drag him out of his room and hanged out – inevitably including Charlie in the plan.

Hours passed like minutes, and none of them had the intention to leave yet. However, Sam had approached his brother to ask him if it was already time to go, which obviously meant he was exhausted and he wanted to go home – though with some reluctance, for he seemed quite entertained talking to Gabriel Novak… and Charlie, of course.

The five of them walked out of the establishment; Gabriel, Sam and Charlie were still joking and laughing before them, as if they were good old friends re-joined. Meanwhile, Castiel and Dean walked a few behind, the latter with his hands in the pockets of his washed-out jeans. The dark haired sighed, enjoying the momentary and comfortable silence that had formed between them while they walked to their cars.

"Hey, _Cas_ …" The green eyed broke the silence, turning his gaze to the younger. He paused. "I can call you Cas, right?"

The aforementioned smiled at the nickname.

" _Cas_ is fine." He nodded.

In fact, he liked it. He never got nice nicknames, nobody ever bothered to shorten his peculiar name. Besides the annoying appellatives from his older brother, which were sometimes imitated by his other siblings and even Charlie, Castiel wasn't used to being called other way. And it wasn't like he was popular enough for a lot of people to know his name, either.

"Cool." He smiled back. "So, _Cas_ …" he resumed his lines, subtly emphasizing on the alias used. "…you don't have any plans for the next weekend, do you?"

The heart of the mentioned started to race. Was it happening what he thought was happening? Did he get the message right? Was Dean Winchester asking him out?

"Uh… No, actually." He admitted, shrugging, pretending to look casual and disguising his excitement. "Why? Did you have something in mind?"

An impish smile was drawn on the blonde's handsome face.

"Well, I had a really good time with you tonight, so I thought I could show you some pool technics some other time… you know…"

Castiel chuckled.

"I'd like that, yes."

"Great." The smirk on Dean's face turned into a bright grin. "Why don't you give me your number? So that I could call you and arrange it."

"S-Sure."

Castiel took a deep breath, blinking and taking out his phone immediately, feeling suddenly incapable of breathing with normality. Dean did the same, pulling out his cell phone from his back pocket. They exchanged phones and each one typed the digits on the other's contacts list. The black haired wrote a simple 'Cas' on the name label. Could it be truth that he was exchanging phone numbers with a guy he had barely met? Yes.

"Done." Said the older, once he had finished typing, handing back to Castiel his cell phone. The latter did the same, holding out the gadget to its owner. "Now we're in touch."

Castiel smiled in response, glancing to the front, where his brother and his best friend waited for him, looking back at him with mischievous smiles. He turned his deep blue eyes back to Dean.

"Thanks… for tonight. It was fun."

"Good to hear that." The green eyed replied. "It's a 'see ya later', I guess".

"Yes." Castiel played with his phone, not quite knowing what else to say. He just managed to wave his hand awkwardly in farewell. "Bye."

Without daring to look up at the Winchester again after his pathetic goodbye, Castiel walked up to Gabriel and Charlie, who were saying goodbye to Sam as well. _'That could've been worse'_ , he told himself. He repeated the mimic with Sam when he passed by him, waving shyly at him with a subtle smile.

"Time to go home, champ." Gabriel sighed, with a radiant smile printed on his face. Castiel had the certain impression that he hadn't been the only one to get the number of a Winchester that night.

The youngest of the Novak said nothing. For some reason, it was impossible for him to erase the dreamy smile on his face, and he felt stupid for it... however, he decided he didn't care. The looked down at his phone; Dean's number was still showing on the screen, right under his name. Beside it, the blonde had typed a 'less than' symbol and a '3', simulating a heart. Castiel couldn't help but grin.

"Hey, Cas!" The voice of Dean called him from the distance, and the black haired boy turned immediately to face him. "Happy Birthday!"


End file.
